Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-05-06


the State. It would make our Augusta
farmers open their eyes to see the condi-
ton of the crops as l saw them along the
F. r. s. N. Co.. 3 line to-day. Corn waist
high. worked out and ready in some places
for laying by; oats almost as high as the
fencss,and some fields ripe enough to cut;
re taller than my head, but hardly turn
ing yet, and cotton looking nice and green
lust getting its first working. But no
wheat, they can't raise that here. There
are large groves of Leoonte pear trees, a
beautiful growth and cultivated in this
section much more extensively than Or
anges. 1t is most too far North here tor
oranges to pay.
CITY OF FLOWERS.
This capital city of Florida Is one of the
prettiest towns i ever saw. 1t Is clad in
vines rand EMPOWERED in shade, every yard
is flower garden aud every portico bow
ST, and the air is laden with the perfume of
the iessamine and honeysuckle. 1t is a
city of lovely, hospitaDle homes and cour-
teous, warm hearted people. At one Of
these homes was surprised to meet a
young lady from Staunton, Miss Mary
Lou Bledsoe. She has been for several
months visiting the family of ex-Gover-
nor Bloxham, wiz married a cousin OF
Mrs. ThOs. A. Bledsoe. This is The same W .
D. Bloxham whose ability and popularity.
set off against the patronage in the hands
of Gov. Perry, has engaged the legislator o
of Florida in the senatorial dead lock,
that has for the last three weeks attracted
the attention of the country. Bloxham
sEeSns to be the people q candidate and will
Win if they have their way. Mlss Bledsoe
is preparing to start home, and her feat
of paying parting calls yesterday may be
cited az the largest days work in that line
on record; seventy-hve calls in day, two
large packs of visiting cards expended
that's the record. The other StauntOn
girls will have to take some Tallahassee
lessons when Miss B. gets home. She
goes from here to jacksonville and St.
Augustine and thence home.
THE MURDEROUs APACHEs.
There are about 440 Apache Indians
who have been brought to st. Augustine,
by the government, from Arizona, where
they were constantly butchoriDg the i'm
migrant trains and numbering the settlers.
They are now considered harmless. and
are cared for, clothed, fed, and educated
by forgiving Uncle Sam, though there is
probably not a man among them but has
taken a white scalp and deserves the gal
lows. They are hard looking set too,
the men with repusive, cruel faces, and
the old squaws the most hldeous hays I
ever laid eyes on. / never imagined a
woman could be so ugly and disgusting as
some of these old squaws are in their
dirty, ragged Mother Hubbard dresses
and their skin hanging in Thousand folds
on their broad faces. l don't think l can
ever look with composure on a Mother
Hubbard again.
Some of the women were going through
with their ablutions when saw them. 1t
was an economical process; one would squat
down on the rock while another would
pour the water on her back with her dress
on and both would scrub and rub and thus
wash the dress and woman, both at the
same time, a commendable saving of water
and labor, to say nothing of the comfort of
the thing on warm day. The squaws
were doing everything that looked like
labor, and the lazy men were gambling,
rolling hoops, and shooting javelins at
them, playing marbles Or idly summing
themselves; all of both sexes wearing their
thick black hair as long as it would grow.
They never crop it they say, unless rela-
tive dies and then it is badge of MOURN
ing Some of them had their faces paint
ed, think it would have helped them all.
Their dress is just anything, shawls,
blankets, odds and ends of garments they
have picked up, and some with very little
of anything except beads aud feathers.-
The nearest approach to good looks is to
be found among the boys, who can talk
enough English to make themselves I'M
derstood and were nearly all around with
bows and arrows. They soon let US know
they were on the make and wanted to
shoot for nickels. One of them would
put the coin in split stick and stick it
up in the ground. Then all would stand
off and shoot till one knocked it out and
the nickel was that fellows money
There was never any squabbllng over who
was winner. They were perfectly fair
with one another, and that was the only
thing saw that was commen6able about
the whole precious crew.
This red skin camp is about to be brok
en- up. however. While in Fernandina, a
few days after leaving ST. Augustine, l
saw about seventy of the children and
younger ones on board a steamer bound
for Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they
were TO be put to school, and l hear that
Geronimo and his head devils who are in the
fort at Pensacola are to have their wives
sent to them, and the rest of them to be
put on an island in the gulf. There have
been only about twenty deaths among the
Apaches since their removal, so that their
extinction in that way, however desirable
seems rather remote.
AN ITEM FOR FARMERS.
AS this letter is very much of mix
try" any way, my last items shall be re-
port of the champion crops of Florida for
the benefit of your agricultural readers
l was ON the farm of Rev. Eppes Tucker,
who made the corn crop. He planted it
Christmas day. commenced working it in
January and laid by the last Of February.
The corn was in roasting ear in March
and by the 18th of May 1t was ready for
the MILL Was not that quick works
THE LARGEST ORANGE GROVE.
l,he largest Weld Of ORANGES from a sin